The present invention relates to an ink jet print head and to a printer incorporating such a head.
In a known head of the above-indicated type, it has been proposed that a rigid containter should be partially filled with ink and that the head should include a chamber for venting vapour bubbles and for compensating for the pressure in the ink.
The known head comprises a metal element which is disposed at the end of the container which is opposite to the nozzle and which is in electrical contact with a conducting element which extends into the vicinity of the nozzle. The known head gives rise to difficulties in regard to filling it with ink and it requires a drill in order to bring it into use. In addition, because of the drilling operation, it cannot be temporarily removed to be subsequently re-used.
In order to overcome these disadvantages, a head has been proposed, comprising a rigid frame formed by two shell members and a flexible membrane disposed in such a way as to form a closed chamber with one of the shell members to contain the ink and together with the other shell member to form an air chamber communicating with the atmosphere. That head also gives rise to difficulties in regard to filling it, since it requires the membrane to be perforated while the sealing connection between the two shell members and the membrane is fairly complicated.